


The Siege of Joyous Gard

by RobberBaroness



Series: Darkest Timeline [2]
Category: Arthurian Mythology
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Dark, F/M, Heavy Angst, Past Rape/Non-con
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-11
Updated: 2020-01-11
Packaged: 2021-02-19 05:27:13
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,557
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22205920
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RobberBaroness/pseuds/RobberBaroness
Summary: Lancelot sees visions of angels while the world burns.  Arthur takes counsel while his plans fall apart.  Guinevere reads a letter while realizing the danger.
Relationships: Guinevere/Arthur Pendragon
Series: Darkest Timeline [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1598476
Kudos: 18





	The Siege of Joyous Gard

**Author's Note:**

> So this is a series now, because I can't leave bad enough alone. The ironic thing is that this isn't even really the Darkest Timeline- I can think of plenty of versions that go even darker than this.

“Father.” The angel was beautiful and cold and cruel, as angels always are. Or had Lancelot ever really seen anything divine, corrupt as he was? Had it been madness all along? Was it madness now? Galahad had always been meant to be an angel even when he was alive- being dead suited him. God’s love suited him.

“Leave me. Go back to heaven.” The way Lancelot murmured it, it sounded like an insult.

“I cannot. The weight of your crime has left me unable to find peace, even in the presence of the Lord. Another sin of yours.” Galahad looked down upon his father with flames in his eyes which scorched him to the core. “And all these years, I thought Mother was the unforgivable one. But it was always the both of you, wasn’t it? What she accomplished the lady’s way, with trickery, you accomplished the soldier’s way, with force. Such are the creatures who gave me life.”

Galahad had never spoken of his mother when Lancelot knew him. Perhaps this was more evidence that there was no angel at all and Lancelot had simply lost his mind once and for all, or perhaps this hatred had always lain in his son’s heart, and the boy had simply been too kind- or too proud- to ever show it.

“Look at yourself. You are alone, and it is all of your own doing. Arthur and Gawain wish you dead. Bors cursed you as he abandoned your castle, damning you to the hell he knew you deserved. If Galeholt were alive, even a barbarian like him would have denounced you. Only Lionel still stands beside you, and that is because he is too simple to know where else to go. And the woman you claim to love weeps every night for the wrong you have done her.”

“Kill me, then,” said Lancelot. He did not know whether or not he hoped Galahad would take him up on his offer. “Why didn’t you kill me before I had her? Why didn’t you look down from heaven upon me and burn me to ashes when I first laid my hands upon her? Why didn’t you stop me?”

“Why didn’t you stop yourself?”

Lancelot closed his eyes, but he could still see the angel, burning through the darkness.

“You wouldn’t know. You never loved. You can’t love.”

“How would you know, father? What did you ever know of me? Perhaps I did feel love and even lust and struggled with my vows every day, but kept to them nonetheless. Or perhaps I never felt the desires of the flesh, but cared enough for my fellow man and woman to feel harm done against them as if it was a blow against myself. How would you know anything about me? You never wanted to. You never cared to. You wished only that I would be gone from your life, and never remind you of the wrong done against you. And now you have committed that wrong yourself, and I shall never leave you or let you know peace until the end of your days.”

Lancelot opened his eyes. He was alone in his room. Madness, only madness. The only sound he could hear at all was shouting from the outside of his castle. He could not make out the words, but he knew already who and what it was- Gawain, calling him out.

***

“Lancelot du Lac! I proclaim you a traitor, a murderer, and a ravisher of women! None need die this night save you or I or both. Come face me, not behind your pretty rules of tournaments but on the true field of battle! Come face me, or I shall pull down every stone of Joyous Gard and kill any fool with a sword you send to block the way.”

Gawain did not need to wait long for his challenge to be answered. In the days when Vivian was still alive, before that mad fool Balin had struck her down, she never would have permitted her godson to leave his castle and face an army all by himself, but either Lancelot still knew his former friend would keep his word, or he was simply too lost to care.

“Gawain of Orkney. I am sorry for your brothers.” He raised his sword. “I am sorry that the only one I let escape was the only one I should have killed. And I am sorry your king has sent you to your death this night.” He looked up into the mist, as if it were possible to see his former liege from where he stood. “Arthur! I loved you as a brother! But know this- I loved Guinevere more that night than you ever loved her in your entire life!”

If he had been trying to invite an attack, it worked. Gawain’s rage had been known to get the better of him in the best of circumstances, and Lancelot’s words were exactly what it took to send him screaming forward, his vision as red as Lancelot’s had been when he killed the other Orkney Princes.

***

The battle raged on so long that that it became clear there was only going to be one winner- the one who didn’t collapse from exhaustion. Dawn was on the horizon and Gawain was getting his second wind, however, and Lancelot was showing no sign of slowing. Both men were splashed in gore, suggesting wounds that would have killed any other men.

Nevertheless, Arthur remained frozen in place, watching the battle through the many hours it raged. It was possible Gawain had thought his promise would be kept, and that if he died, the Pendragon banner men would retreat. Arthur had no such intentions. Joyous Gard would be razed and Lancelot’s body would be thrown to the wild beasts, one way or another.

“My lord.” The silky voice of Nimue came through the mists, and he barely even turned towards it. “You did not send for me, but I sense your time of need nonetheless.”

“Did you know?” Arthur asked quietly. “Did you know what he would do to her?”

“Prophecy was Merlin’s gift, not mine. As I recall, he did warn you that Lancelot would be both your greatest knight and your undoing. Just like him, to give a warning with such a lack of specificity as to be utterly useless.” She sighed. “But no, I did not guess at what would happen. I should have. I knew he was mad, and I knew he desired her. And I knew personally the lengths men will go to in the name of women who never asked for their attentions. As one who prided myself on my cynicism, I should have known it was a recipe for disaster.”

 _And I knew personally..._ For the hundredth time, Arthur resolved never to ask Nimue the truth about what had happened to Merlin.

“Kill him,” Arthur said. “Use your magic. Make it painful.”

“If that’s what you want, you should be speaking to Morgan.” Nimue paused to consider. “As a matter of fact, that might actually work. Morgan could be a good ally if this comes to all-out war; she may never have cared for Guinevere, but she’d surely be offended at the notion of a Queen not being safe from her own knights. But I care for Guinevere. I thought you did as well.”

Arthur finally turned his eyes from the battle, struck by the implied insult.

“You thought I did? Why am I destroying my own men, if not for her?”

“And I’m sure she appreciates it. I’m sure she’d appreciate a letter from you far more. If you love her, tell her so. Tell her how much you still love her, with no mention of what heroic deeds you or your knights might be performing in her name. Tell her how sorry you are for all she’s suffered, and tell her you will be back home with her again soon. And honor what you tell her.”

Nimue stepped between Arthur and his view of the battle.

“If you listen to me ever in all your reign, listen to me now.”

“I…” It was suddenly hard for Arthur to speak. “I made such promises to my kingdom- I promised to protect the helpless and punish the wicked, and in the end I could not protect the woman I loved most. I thought I could make everything right here, but whatever happens tonight will not change anything that has happened. Lancelot must be punished, yes- but you are right. I will write to her, and let her know she shall not be alone long. When this night is over, Gawain and I will ride, by ourselves if we must, disguised if we think it unsafe. If my Queen needs me, I shall be there for her.”

***

_My dearest love,_

_I should have stayed at Camelot with you. I know that, now. I should have stayed by your side when you asked me to. I am making preparations to come home now, with or without my men. I cannot stand to be apart from you a moment longer._

_Your husband,_  
_Arthur_

Guinevere held the letter close to her chest, trying to control her breathing. It was dated one day after Mordred had told her that Arthur had died at Joyous Gard.


End file.
